


Of Future And Now

by orphan_account



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Comfort, Everyone Needs A Stéphane in Their Lives, Gen, Quarantine, Team Champéry, uncertainties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:08:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23777377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “Everyone has doubts. And it’s how you use them, that is the matter.”Deniss spent a month in Champéry during quarantine.
Relationships: Stéphane Lambiel & Deniss Vasiljevs
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Of Future And Now

**Author's Note:**

> This is completely fictional, but I do hope some sort of conversation like this can happen for skaters who are left in uncertainties and have to stop their training.   
> It's basically a pep talk to myself, for the lack of skating right now and the possibly chaotic next season, whenever it can take place.  
> Thank you Team Champéry for bringing joy and positivity in this crazy time.

Deniss chose to stay in Champéry.

It was not completely a choice, there were many other external factors coming into play. Latvia closed borders and suspended all international and domestic travel at a very early stage. He had not planned return home at that point of time and hence had no tickets booked. But after all this, Deniss had to admit that he felt safe and comfortable enough in this little village, that he did not feel there was any problem staying.

He had finished the last gym session before the closure of their rink, and shared an apple pie with all training mates who came to this session. He initially intended to share the pie before leaving for Worlds, but now it was entirely different. Repurposed pie, but still a purpose well served. Then they had a lunch together in Stéphane’s chalet, on the long dining table, with his burgers.

Things unfolded so fast and changed so dramatically that everybody was still left in shock, but at least they could still spend some time together. In figure skater’s bubble, probably the most important thing was cancellation of Worlds. Someone was preparing for a comeback. Someone was waiting for her debut. Some others would be at home, waiting in front of a screen and cheering for their training mates. It was difficult to believe what happened, and it was even harder to imagine what would be happening next. It might be weeks, or even months before they could be back together on the ice, and next season would also be up in the air.

They tried to say goodbye with a smile, and probably avoiding hug right now would be the wise choice. Probably someone did, someone did not. It is hard to remember every detail, as Deniss stood now in the kitchen, mindlessly browsing the cupboard to find a spice to use. It had been a month since their last training session.

He was happy that they had a chance to have lunch together. The day following their lunch, a partial lockdown was announced. They could still see each other on screen-Deniss finally had to stick to, and be grateful for, his phone and technology-but it definitely wasn’t the same.

He temporarily moved back to Stéphane’s. There is more space to exercise indoors, there’s a bigger kitchen, and there’s people to talk to. And he was not ready to completely cut down face-to-face interactions, should a lockdown were to happen like in other countries. Most importantly, he had stayed with Stéphane and it had been a good time.

He spent a good amount of time in the kitchen. He made lemon tarts, cooked Borscht based on a recipe on the “fan recipe book” which he received at Europeans as a gift, and even had time to bake a Sachertorte whose recipe had been on the fridge door for a good five months. He happily used Stéphane’s kitchen and continued to have kitchen discussions with other two men, which up to now were all on friendly terms.

He continued to train off-ice with Stéphane, sometimes outdoors in the early morning, sometimes indoors on the carpeted floor. They had to improvise and use minimal equipment, but it had been going on well, if they discount those multiple ‘can you hear me’ and ‘can you see me’ moments in the first few days. It’s great to see the rink mates being safe, healthy and to know that they will at least stay in shape during this time.

However, insecurities and doubts still crept in at times. After all, it is an unusual time, with everything suddenly coming to a halt and the future left in uncertainty.

“Stéph?” Deniss finally had gone through all those little pieces of thoughts on his own and decided to talk about it, “Do you have a minute now?”

“Yes?”Stéphane sat down on the couch next to Deniss, “I probably have more time now than ever before.”

Deniss took a deep breath and got his thoughts ready. Not that he had prepared a speech, but at least he had to know what he wanted to talk about. “I’m…just, feeling a little bit, I’m not sure…uncertain? Anxious? About…a lot of things, I guess.” He sighed, “You know, missed ice time, cancelled camps and shows, and how things would unfold in the next few months or so.”

“Hmm.” Stéphane gently placed a hand on Deniss’s, “I know. I feel you.”

“I mean…there had been some good news here,” the young man continued and tried to smile, “With the whole exit plan and…although nothing is confirmed, hopefully we’ll have ice again sometime, not too far away, in the future. But I don’t know how everything well change. Challengers, GP, and…maybe even later competitions next season? I know thinking about the uncontrollable isn’t the best thing to do now, but it’s very difficult to refrain from. I mean, people I know are safe and healthy. We’re all doing what we can do this time. But it can feel like a bubble of ‘everything’s well’, which, thinking about it, it’s…questionable?”

“I agree. It is a bubble, but more like a…can I say bubble wrap at this time? We still need these little things which are in our control to protect us from all this madness. I’m sorry that I can’t give you that assurance now, which I should do, and which we all need-”

Deniss stopped him. “No, Stéph, don’t.” He flipped his hand and held tightly to his coach’s, “Yes, we all need that, but it would be unreasonable to expect that kind of plan right now. It’s…just unfortunate that we had to stop abruptly, and if a season or a part of it were to happen, probably everyone would go back unprepared. In a sense it might be fair play to some extent, since no one would be at their prime and it might as well be a bad season for everyone, but…I guess we just aren’t used to it. Even with a new routine now, I still miss the old times.”

“I miss the ice too.” Stéphane turned briefly to the window, where Deniss knew their rink stood just a minute walk away. “But the thing is, if say that we go back unprepared, it wouldn’t be a disaster. You know, with any result we’re to get in such a condition, we can only get better when the ice is back.”

Deniss pondered. It’s not untrue, and he was suddenly reminded of a recent interview of Shoma, which was of course kindly translated by Koshiro. “ _I’d be happy if I defeat myself_ ”, his training mate said. “I guess…that’s sort of right, how do you say that? Tu as raison?”

Stéphane smiled at his French attempt. “Yes, and I’m happy to hear ‘tu’. It seems that I’m not too old and outdated.”

Deniss blinked and opened his arms. “Can I ask for…?”

Stéphane leaned in and brought his student into a firm hug. “Thank you for telling me.” Stéphane said softly, “I know it must be hard for you to go through this period, and it can be even harder to talk about. Do you feel a bit better?”

“I think I do.” Deniss rested his chin on his coach’s shoulder, and just let Stéphane support him for a little while. He retrospectively felt that he made a right decision to stay in Champéry. Although he could always make a video call and talk things through, and he would highly likely receive the same words, physical affinity and contact has immense power. He knew it, had experienced it, and would never underestimate it.

“In the worst scenario that we aren’t ever going to be back to normal, and I mean it’s really the worst because it’s unlikely,” Stéphane continued to hold his student, “If you really want to skate, you can still do it. In one way or another.”

Deniss whined. “Stéph, no, that’s too far away. Even if people were to decide we’re not going back ever again, it would take a good few years to come to that conclusion. Tell me something within reach.”

“Let me think.” Stéphane paused for a while, “How about the live session on Sunday? I’ve…actually never done it. Hopefully it can go smoothly with no mishaps.”

Deniss smiled. To be honest, it is a nice initiative by ISU, and he would very happily tune in if he were another skater stuck at a corner of the world. “Hopefully the Internet stays alive, and Chris would teach us how to set up the live.”

“Better still, if he set it up for us.” Stéphane laughed. “Speaking of whom, is a bigger planning freak than both of us. We’d better make sure he stays sane in this madness.”


End file.
